Almost 20 projects to create new 'mood-boosting' green spaces around Greater Manchester will get part of a £500k fund from the Mayor of Greater Manchester. 

The half-a-million Green Spaces Fund is aimed at community-led schemes to create more vibrant green amenities to local neighbourhoods.

In the sixth round of the funding, 19 new projects have been selected across the region, including three in Stockport.

These include:

• Cascade Garden, transforming the 'tired, unused space' around Stopford House into an exciting new garden. Easy Peel Studio CIC (£10,600)
• From Car Park To Food Park, turning a 'fly-tipping prone' 12-space car park in Edgeley into a 'playful' food park, by Actions Common CIC (£36,267)
• All aboard for Brinnington, bringing colour to a 'run down' spot in Brinnington with murals, benches and blooms, part of the Marple Youth Project (£14,500)

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: "I'm really proud to announce the latest round of Green Spaces Fund winners, building on the strong momentum we're seeing right across Greater Manchester.

"These projects are helping us respond to the climate and nature emergencies, while creating welcoming spaces that bring people together and support healthier, happier lives."

The most recent round of funding was partly supported by Together Money and Autotrader, according to Daveen Wallis, co-founder of the Greater Manchester Environment Trust. 

Mr Wallis added: "The Green Spaces Fund is helping communities across the city region reconnect with nature, and it's been great to see so many brilliant ideas come through this year." 

Access to green spaces is linked to improvements in mental health and community cohesion, some of the reasons the fund was first created in 2022. It's since funded £3.5m worth of green spaces.

Other examples elsewhere include a brand new 'street park' in Wigan, and an 'underused' garden at a hospital in Rochdale that will be transformed into a community space. Other projects include a 'Garden of Hope' in Manchester, where refugees and residents can learn to grow plants, and an 'edible, educational landscape' next to a Chadwick Dam in Tameside.